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Ghosts (Phenomenon)
Ghosts are an unknown phernomenon, manifested as the shadows of people who have died in the Metro and are unable to cross over due to, as stated by Khan, an atomized purgatory. They are currently perceived as the ultimate fate of everyone in the metro. Overview Ghosts are dangerous, yet, mostly inert and non-hostile entities, capable of damage upon listening to the sound of them in pipes, and capable of killing upon touch. Ghosts can only be seen and avoided when using the flashlight; and even then, visually, ghosts appear faint . In general, ghosts bear a strong resemblance to the "blast shadows" created when a nuclear bomb explodes and burns an outline of a body caught in that blast into a wall or other surface. With nowhere to go, these souls of the dead haunt the lost tunnels of the metro for eternity, forever forced to live out their last moments over and over again until the end of time. These specters do not seem to understand that they are dead and some of them continue to faithfully perform their duty that they had in life - for example: ghostly defenders at a barricade. Ghosts make a return in Metro Last Light in two forms: the standard black ghosts, and a bloody, yet still non-hostile, variant. Found solely in The Dead City, black ghosts differ than their equivilents in Metro 2033 in that they are detected differently. In The Dead City, never are ghosts seen best by shining a flashlight directly upon them, as doing so makes them fade into invisibility. Instead, ghosts are alternatively best seen on the edge of the flashlight's field, or, more easily, yet far briefer, in flashes of lightning (They can also be seen with nightvision googles. In that case Ghosts look dense with sharper details). Ghosts remain non-hostile, and cannot harm Artyom at any time. Bloody ghosts too, act in a similar capacity to ghosts - but are notable for their reddish hue, more corporeal nature, and distinct dissolve after materialization. While bloody ghosts are still non-threats to the player, they areas where they are seen in have tense atmospheres with rather disturbing and unsettling noises as ambience - which, as meta incentive, may deter many from staying for prolonged periods of time. Sub-Variants Darkness The Darkness 'is an unofficial term for a type of ghost-related phenomenon found in Metro Last Light. The darkness is only encountered in two levels of Metro Last Light: most prominently in Undercity and briefly in Khan and The Dead City. The anomaly is invisible, shapeless, non-hostile, and other-wise unnoticeable, with exception to its effect. Upon entering and exiting the designated area of darkness, Artyom's field of view becomes fragmented and distorted for several second, and an electric zap is heard. If the player attempts to utilize any light besides Artyom's Lighter or the few torches and candles scattered through-out the areas the darkness is found in, the screen will once again distort, and the light will be immediately disabled. The player is thus forced to proceed into an area with only the flame of the lighter to show the way. The darkness acts as a tool and signal then, for the developers to forcefully and intentionally signal a slow-down in pace and a build-up in atmosphere. Damned Souls 'Damned Souls is one of many fan-terms for ghosts appearing on the surface in Red Square. The damned souls manifests as the upper body (often only the arms) of restless, immobile beings trapped in a limbo between life and death. The Dark One states that they do not know they are dead but that they are terrified and lonely, grabbing onto people because they wish for someone to stay with them. The Dark One saves Artyom from the damned souls and leads him out of their domain. Later, after viewing Pavel's memories, Artyom and Pavel is dragged into a pit of damned. Artyom can save Pavel or leave him to join the damned, killing him. Damned soul is the only type of ghost that could be considered "hostile" to artyom. In the Novel Ghosts do not appear in the novel, however there is early on Artyom hears a tale in which one wanderer ventures to cross from Tulskaya station to the end of the line that is completely abandoned. Once in the Sevalstopolskaya Station, the wanderer sees a silent but completely functional train with its blinding lights, passes away from the platform to the tunnel, full of ghosts. Only the laugh of a child can be heard from the ghost train. Appearances The only time the player confronts these are during the following levels: Metro 2033 * Chase - Artyom collides with the ghost of a dark one, causing him to pass out and dream, where he sees Hunter shoot one. There are also many ghosts of men and children around the edges of the tunnel while on the cart in the bypass tunnel. **Since there is a ghost of a dark one here, it might possibly mean that someone killed one right here, and it is infinitely reliving its final moments. Since Artyom sees Hunter shoot it, it is likely that Hunter killed this dark one on his way to, or from Exhibition. Colliding with it, if it is in fact a ghost, and entering its mind games proves that even its ghost still has telepathic powers or maybe the contact with a ghost cause the person to see the ghost last moments. *Lost Tunnels - Though many players miss / forget about the encounter, ghosts can be heard by sitting and listening to the pipes Bourbon points out. The pipes in Ghosts contain child's laughter. This pipe can be listened to again in the level: ghosts. There, if the player does not heed Khan's warning about not staying for too long, the player will be confronted with a loud, tormented scream from a child and is pushed away from the pipes. *Ghosts - Throughout the whole level, Khan gives Artyom some background on them. Here they encounter the ghosts of people, soldiers, nosalises, and even a ghost train. This dates some of these ghosts back to the nuclear incident that scorched the Earth, since the tunnel this ghost train uses is intact, then it suddenly crashes. **Many ghosts seen in this level may be former citizens of Cursed Station, due to the fact that the defender's ghosts may have been a militia of sorts, the other people may have been forced to the surrounding tunnels during mutant attacks and were killed by other means (bats, mutants, other ghost i.e. the train, etc.) Khan mentions that those killed by the ghosts often become part of their repeated final moments. *Cursed - Three of them are blocking a small passage, opposite of the barricaded side of the station, disappear when Artyom demolishes the tunnels. Metro: Last Light *Echoes - While exploring a side tunnel and just like other ghost in The dead city, could only be seen temporary *Regina - While driving Regina, Artyom can stop and investigate multiple rooms (this also gives a high amount of positive moral points). In one of them a very disturbing scene plays: Artyom can see multiple ghosts on what looks to be like broken hospital beds. While walking between them one can hear whispers, and bottles of medicine will crash onto the walls. On the far end one can see a surgeon stand with another ghost. Going there will give a moral point. *Undercity - One can encounter multiple ghosts in the catacombs (usually the bloody version). Also a Darkness anomaly is present here for the first time. *The Dead City - This level is a desolated settlement with multiple ghost encounters. *Red Square - Several Damned Souls can be found in this level. Gallery PixelyGhostsTheDeadCity2.png|Two black ghosts seen in Last Light, caught in a glimpse of lightning. PixelyGhostsTheDeadCity3.png|A number of black ghosts in Last Light, all caught in a flash of lightning. 2013-05-20_00149.jpg|An almost fully phased-in bloody ghost, as seen in Regina. Darkness1.png|Metro Last Light's original, unpatched effect for the Darkness, which made the screen difficult to see through for several seconds. Trivia *thumb|right|236px|Ghost Tunnel Level themeOne of the specific "death messages" in Metro 2033 warns you of ghosts and suggests to keep your flashlight on at all times. This is greatly exaggerated, since the player only encounters a handful of ghosts in the game. Additionally, the message seems to be triggered by a number of hazards other than ghosts, such as being hit by the railcar in Front Line. This is probably due to these events all killing the player using the same method. *The noises from the pipes are assumed by many Metro dwellers to be the voices of the dead, however in the novel, the noises in the pipes (around the Kievskaya/''Park Poebody ''area) are actually the low, ghostly chants from the Savage Cannibals of the Great Worm cult, whose chants can be heard in the pipes to attract children. *Leaving Pavel to die at the hands of the damned souls might only serve as a metaphor for Artyom simply not putting a new filter into Pavel's gas mask and as a result he suffocates. Category:Mutants